A framework for understanding media exposure and post-COVID-19 travel intentions

ABSTRACT

Risk perceptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic are significant factors shaping contemporary tourists’ travel behaviour. While the relationship between perceived risk and tourists’ decision-making and behaviour in relation to COVID-19 is already a significant area of tourism research, the role of exposure to media outlets in affecting travel intentions has only seen very limited attention. This is despite the clear importance of media in influencing risk perceptions and travel behaviour in general. This study proposes a framework linking crisis management, healthcare system, solidarity and destination marketing shaped by media exposure to post-pandemic travel intentions. This research lays a foundation for future research on media exposure and tourists’ travel behaviour in times of crisis.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• media exposure
• travel intention
• crisis
• destination image

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Siamak Seyfi

Siamak Seyfi is an Assistant Professor at the Geography Research Unit of the University of Oulu, Finland. Using an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach, his research interests focus on tourism mobilities, political consumerism, sustainability, resilience, as well as qualitative sociological/ethnographic research methods in tourism.

Raymond Rastegar

Raymond Rastegar holds a PhD in tourism management and is a Lecturer and researcher in Tourism at the UQ Business School, University of Queensland. His research focuses on sustainable tourism development in developing countries with specific interest in local community livelihood, participation, empowerment, and environmental conservation. Recent research projects have investigated the impacts of tourism at local level and delivered new insights into the tourism phenomenon to advocate a more just and sustainable tourism future.

S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh

S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh is an Associate Professor and Director of Centre for Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT), and Head of Research for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management in Taylor's University, Malaysia. His research interest areas contain sustainable tourism, heritage tourism, community participation, residents' perceptions, and urban sustainability. He has published widely in high impact tourism and hospitality journals.

C. Michael Hall

C. Michael Hall is a Professor in the Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; Docent, Department of Geography, University of Oulu, Finland; and Visiting Professor, School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University, Kalmar. He publishes widely on tourism, sustainability, global environmental change and regional development.